99,608 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Independent Financial Group LLC

Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 99,608 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $36,872,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.1% of Independent Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after acquiring an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $464.72 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.96. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC cut their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank lowered their target price on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).